PESHAWAR: Health department has directed the district health authorities to enhance screening of influenza-like illnesses and random testing of Covid-19 in view of emergence of JN.1, the new variant of the infection, in neighbouring countries.

“We have issued instructions to all district headquarters hospitals to facilitate collection of samples of suspected patients and sending the same for genome testing of Covid-19 to Public Health Reference Laboratory (PHRL),” the director of public health, Dr Irshad Ahmed Roghani, told Dawn.

He said that PHRL at Khyber Medical University was well-equipped to detect the new variant f Covid-19 called JN.1. “We have strengthened surveillance to ensure that the new guidelines regarding the virus are implemented in letter and spirit and ensure safety of people,” he added.

Dr Irshad said that timely and comprehensive implementation of testing protocols would play a substantial role to manage and alleviate the impact of Covid-19. He added that it would also help the authorities concerned to take preventive steps in a timely manner.

So far no positive case of JN.1 has been reported in KP

The letter entitled ‘Enhancement of testing protocols for influenza-like illnesses (ILIs)’ has been issued in view of the recent upswing in respiratory infections coupled with worldwide dissemination of the novel JN-I variant of Covid-19.

The public health director said that the measure was also in concordance with the concerns shown by World Health Organisation (WHO) about escalation in respiratory infections. He said that there had been a noteworthy rise in cases of ILI among people in the recent weeks.

He said that neighbouring countries had also documented occurrences of the new variant of Covid-19, which warranted the need for a proactive and vigilant approach. “In light of these developments, National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has also issued a directive, emphasising the need for all provinces and regions to enhance their endeavours in Covid-19 testing.

“The goal is to meticulously monitor real-time situation within our country and implement requisite measures to mitigate the potential spread of the virus,” said Dr Irshad.

Meanwhile, PHRL continues to test samples for ILI in a small number as district hospitals are not sending specimens as per directives of the health department.

Sources at the office of director-general health services told Dawn that PHRL had processed about 150 samples suspected cases and 50 of them emerged positive for ILI but there was no positivity for Covid-19.

They said that symptoms of ILI included body ache, cough, body itching etc and anyone tested for Covid-19 would then be processed for genome testing to detect the new variant of the infectious disease.

Laboratory scientists said that JN.1 was linked to Omicron. They said that it was not dangerous as it was classified by WHO a variant of interest (VOI) due to its rapidly increasing spread. They said that JN.1 was more infective with a shorter doubling rate in population despite the fact that there was no conclusive evidence regarding increased severity, indicating a potentially lower risk of severe illness and hospitalisation.

PHRL, which pioneered Covid-19 testing in early 2020 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has the capacity to identified JN.1 as it is slightly different from Omicron. The new variant of Covid-19 carries most of the mutations with a few new mutations. All suspected and positive Covid-19 cases may be directed to genomic sequencing to PHRL for sequencing.

Early and accurate variant identification is essential for informed interventions. The health officials said that the department was committed to playing a crucial role in mitigating the impact of JN.1. Increasing testing for these respiratory viruses will enhance comprehensive surveillance and better prepare for potential outbreaks.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2024